W2W: VP Earl

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Survivor, Supernatural and more.

By Brian Zoromski

We cover a lot of television here on IGN TV, and there's still way more airing than we normally cover. So in the interest of helping you figure out what's worth watching, we're slimming down What 2 Watch, a.k.a. W2W, to include picks for the following night's programming.

Each day one of the IGN editors offers their unique take on what's worth watching, recording, or is otherwise noteworthy. So, without further ado, here are our picks for Thursday, October 2, 2008.

I was pleasantly surprised by last week's My Name Is Earl episodes. I was just about ready to write off the show after last season, but everything seems to be back -- well-used guest stars, sharp writing, and, most importantly, the laughs.

This week we've got two new episodes, one with Earl helping out Joy and another where Earl tries to make up for an RV that he stole and Randy blew up.

Survivor looks absolutely awesome in HD. Watching last week's premiere, I found myself actually paying attention to the little throw-away scenes that are right after commercial breaks and during the tribal council vote... where they show a snake slithering by, or a herd of elephants.

As for the contestants themselves I'm not really invested in anyone at this point. According to the official synopsis from CBS, one Castaway is tossed around like a rag doll during a Reward Challenge, while another Castaway sets out to prove her strength while on Exile Island. It's nice to see the phrase "tossed around like a rag doll" -- I think it's used much too infrequently.

Vice-Presidential Debate (Various Networks, 9-11pm)

This is why there's pretty much nothing on after 9pm on most of the major networks -- no Office, no Grey's Anatomy, no ER... nothing.

Even if you've been completely ignoring the presidential race, it's likely you've heard something about Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. She's been the most-talked about VP nominee in years, and it'll be interesting to see how she does in the debate, no matter which side you're pulling for.

The lone broadcast network brave enough to put something up against the VP Debate. But, really, Supernatural fans are going to watch no matter what else is on.

IGN's own Supernatural expert, Diana Steenbergen, saw this episode in advance and gave it a glowing review. Sounds like there's a bunch of huge character developments and a lot of building on the Supernatural mythology.